Blink Twice (2024)
Directed by: Zoë Kravitz
Premise: Two working class women (Naomi Ackie and Alia Shawkat) are invited to a private island owned by a tech billionaire (Channing Tatum). They suspect something sinister is afoot.
What Works: Blink Twice is a thriller with a distinctly political theme. While not exactly subtle, the film is comparable to Get Out, Hostel, and Barbarian in the way it channels contemporary political anxieties, in this case post-#MeToo concerns about abuse and misogyny. One of the most impressive aspects of Blink Twice is the way it gradually reveals this idea. When the billionaire and his guests arrive at the island getaway everything is perfect and the picture is filmed to look like a resort advert but then the tone shifts. The filmmakers use interesting editing techniques that give the impression that the idyllic facade is collapsing as the women’s suppressed memories return to their consciousness. Blink Twice builds very well in part because of the filmmaking but also because of the performances. The picture has an interesting triangular relationship between the billionaire played by Channing Tatum and two female guests played by Naomi Ackie and Adria Arjona. These women start in competition with each other, angling for the billionaire’s attention, but as the truth is revealed their relationship changes. It is an effective switch and Ackie and Arjona are really impressive in the second half as they must keep up the illusion of happy ignorance so as not to tip off their hosts and imperil their lives. It’s an effective visualization of the way women have to navigate misogynistic circumstances.
What Doesn’t: Blink Twice has a provocative concept but the filmmakers overextend and overcomplicate the concept in the ending. The final stretch of the movie includes a big reveal that changes the nature of the relationship between Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie’s characters. This reveal makes no sense and it retroactively creates logical problems in the earlier part of the story. The finale of Blink Twice is also compromised. This is a picture that indicts misogyny but there is also an economic critique implicit in the premise. The filmmakers either don’t realize that or lose their nerve in the ending. The opening of Blink Twice addresses the idolization of billionaires, the middle unravels this adoration, but the conclusion walks back this aspect of this story in ways that undermine the movie’s subversive potential.
Bottom Line: Blink Twice is a well-made thriller. It stumbles in the end but it is a suspenseful and provocative picture that offers a lot to unpack. It’s also an exceptional directorial debut by Zoë Kravitz.
Episode: #1011 (September 1, 2024)